Measuring Success In Our App

Posted August 30, 2018

If you are thinking about signing up for the CaredFor app or recently signed up, you may be wondering what to expect from the app. The information below provides insight on how to set expectations for success using the CaredFor app.

The CaredFor app has a wealth of resources

How will my patients use the app?

Your patients will use the app to celebrate progress, track their recovery, and get peer-support. Our app also allows for patients to private message your center, and vice versa. Additionally, the app provides resources specific to what your patients and alumni are going through such as videos, books, podcasts and articles around recovery.

The difference between active and passive users

There are two different types of users in our app: active and passive. They are both equally valuable users to have. We define an active user as "vocal, post frequently, and drive conversations within the app," and passive users as "login frequently, but are less likely to post in the app."

At face value, it would appear that active users are getting more out of the app but this simply isn't true. For the passive users, sometimes called "lurkers," peer support comes from being a part of a larger community. And, let's face it, even on social media a great percentage of users are lurkers, but they are users getting value out of the tool all the same.

HIPAA Compliance

Comparing CaredFor to Facebook

While CaredFor offers many of the same features as Facebook, it's important to note that Facebook is not HIPAA compliant. There is a security and liability risk in using a Facebook group for your patients and alumni due to the fact that it isn't HIPAA compliant. It's also recommended that patients and alumni not jump back into social when they are in treatment or immediately post-treatment as content on this platform can be a trigger for many, especially during such a vulnerable time as the beginning of recovery.

What does long-term use look like in the app?

First of all, your users are never excluded from this app. They can use it for however long they want to use it. Since the risk of relapse is so high in the first 12 months, having an app like this helps to provide support, community, etc. and as your patients and alumni establish healthier patterns and routines in their everyday lives, naturally they will use the app less frequently but will still receive event notifications, updates from their provider, etc.

Typically we see the following app usage for residential and outpatient:

Residential: For people in residential treatment, we want these users in the app regularly and often after treatment for approximately 90-120 days when they are the most vulnerable. After this time period, it's natural that some users may use the app less frequently as they become more independent and ingrained back into their post-treatment lives.

Outpatient: Outpatient users are similar to the residential users in that we expect them to use the app the most for the first 45-60 days and then gradually use is less frequently as they integrate back into their everyday lives. And even if these users are using the app less actively it will still provide a benefit if your facility need to communicate schedule changes or upcoming events that may be extremely important for users to know which also aids them in their recovery journeys.

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